U.S. Stock Markets Lower on Rising Yields, Election Fears, Corporate Data

U.S. stocks and indexes declined on Wednesday as investors analyzed corporate earnings amid rising Treasury yields and political uncertainty with less than two weeks to go before the presidential election.

Wall Street indexes are down from their all-time highs this week, pressured by rising Treasury yields. The 10-year rate rose on Tuesday to a nearly three-month high, while political uncertainty surrounding the presidential election and heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East added to investor concerns.

Tesla’s Q3 Results in the Spotlight

Quarterly earnings season has entered a frenetic pace, with about one-fifth of the S&P 500 reporting this week.

Tesla (TSLA), the world’s most valuable electric car maker, is set to reveal its third-quarter results later in the session and is the largest U.S. company to report this week.

Tesla’s earnings come after its third-quarter deliveries fell short of expectations, and the much-anticipated unveiling of its robotaxi largely disappointed investors.

In addition to Tesla, other major Wall Street companies, including AT&T (T), IBM (IBM), Coca-Cola (KO), and Bank of America (BAC), will also release their results on Wednesday.

On the other hand, McDonald’s (MCD) shares were down nearly 6% before the market opened after the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued an alert regarding an E. coli outbreak linked to the fast food chain’s hamburgers. The outbreak has hospitalized 10 people and caused one death in 10 states, the CDC reported. Chipmaker Texas Instruments (TXN) rose 4% after its third-quarter earnings met estimates, though its forecast for the current quarter proved disappointing.

Starbucks (SBUX) shares fell more than 5% after the coffeehouse chain suspended its estimates for the next fiscal year, highlighting that same-store sales, net income, and profit declined in the fourth quarter, which ended Sept. 29, due to weak demand for its most expensive items in the U.S.

Federal Reserve’s Bowman

Wednesday’s economic data calendar is relatively light, with September’s existing home sales being the most relevant release.

Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) member Michelle Bowman is also scheduled to speak, offering her views on future monetary policy as expectations shift toward the Fed becoming less aggressive in its easing over the next few months.

Attention is turning to the U.S. presidential election, and investors are increasingly positioning themselves ahead of Election Day on November 5.

Markets appear more confident that GOP candidate Donald Trump will defeat fellow GOP candidate Kamala Harris, although a new joint Reuters/Ipsos poll shows Harris with a marginal 46% to 43% lead over Trump.

This indicates a tight race, and markets could become volatile leading up to Election Day.

Oil Prices Fall as Inventories Rise

Oil prices declined following the release of industry data showing an increase in U.S. crude inventories.

Data from the American Petroleum Institute, released Tuesday, indicated that U.S. oil inventories rose by 1.643 million barrels in the previous week, raising the possibility of cooling U.S. fuel demand.

Official oil inventory data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration will be released on Wednesday.